Late call dooms Cats

Unsportsmanlike penalty called with 1:13 left in game

After catching a 36-yard pass, Syracuse wide receiver Marcus Sales, front, runs toward the end zone for a second-quarter touchdown while pursued by Kansas State linebacker Alex Hrebec, left, and cornerback Emmanuel Lamur during the Pinstripe Bowl on Thursday at Yankee Stadium in New York.

Syracuse wide receiver Marcus Sales (5) celebrates with running back Antwon Bailey (29) after Sales scored a touchdown against Kansas State in the second quarter of the Pinstripe Bowl on Thursday at Yankee Stadium in New York.

An official signals a touchdown as Kansas State running back Daniel Thomas (8) celebrates with fullback Lucas Hamm (49) after running for a touchdown in the second quarter of the Pinstripe Bowl on Thursday at Yankee Stadium in New York.

Kansas State cornerback Tysyn Hartman, left, and defensive tackle Prizell Brown, right, try to tackle Syracuse running back Delone Carter, center, who drags them across the field during the Pinstripe Bowl on Thursday at Yankee Stadium in New York.

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As historic gut-punches go, the Bronx Salute will go down as one of K-State's worst. The gesture (an innocuous salute to the stands from K-State receiver Adrian Hilburn) and the consequence (a 15-yard unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty assessed on the extra point) may not have decided the outcome of the inaugural Pinstripe Bowl, but it was the play everyone will remember.

Syracuse topped K-State 36-34 Thursday at Yankee Stadium after Hilburn was flagged following a potential game-tying touchdown with 1:13 remaining.

"I couldn't keep my head up," said Hilburn, a senior who has one other touchdown catch in his Wildcat career. "I was just bawling when it happened. I feel like I let the team down.

"You can't blame it all on one play — it's a team effort — but at the same time, it's at the very end, and it was on me. I blame myself."

The flag drew Bronx cheers — and likely some salutes of a different nature — from K-State fans among the 38,274 at Yankee Stadium for the first Big Apple bowl game since 1962.

If not for the salute, Hilburn might be remembered as the hero of the 2010 Pinstripe Bowl. With K-State trailing 36-28, the 6-foot-2 senior caught a short pass from Carson Coffman, spun away from a tackler and streaked 30 yards down the sideline, giving the Wildcats a chance to tie the game with a two-point conversion.

Because of the penalty, however, K-State had to attempt the conversion from outside the 17-yard line, and Coffman's pass to Aubrey Quarles sailed high.

Coach Bill Snyder declined to comment on the call, which didn't stop anyone from asking.

"I'm having a hard time avoiding this issue," he said after repeated follow-ups.

"Welcome to New York," someone muttered.

Referee Todd Geerlings, part of the Big Ten crew working the game, offered a more detailed explanation, citing a rule prohibiting players from calling attention to themselves through celebration.

"It was the salute, which was the judgment of the calling officials, which were the head linesman and the back judge," Geerlings said. "Two officials threw the flag, both judged it to be drawing attention to themselves, and that's what the flag was for."

It should be noted that even without the call, K-State would have needed a successful two-point conversion, a defensive stop and some overtime magic to win the game.

It also should be noted that the Wildcats surrendered 198 yards to Syracuse running back Delone Carter, botched a fake field goal and gave up 100 yards more than they gained, so maybe everyone got what they deserved.

Still, the fateful flag loomed large.

"A lot of my teammates came up to me and told me they thought that was a bull call," Hilburn said. "They'll be backing me up for the rest of my life. This is my last game I ever have at K-State."

Had the referee not separated them, the two teams could have kept punching all night. Neither team punted in the second half, and only an ill-fated fake field goal allowed Syracuse to gain a fourth-quarter advantage.

Trailing 33-28, K-State faced fourth-and-five from the Syracuse 11-yard line with 4:50 remaining. The Wildcats sent kicker Josh Cherry on the field, but the play was a designed run to holder Ryan Doerr, who was stuffed for a 3-yard loss.

Carter, the game's most valuable player, bolted 60 yards on the next snap, setting up a 40-yard field goal that proved decisive.

"I went for the fake field goal, which in hindsight wasn't a good call," Snyder said. "That wasn't our players' fault. That was mine."

The fake field goal and the flag deflected attention from K-State's defense, which was equally complicit in the loss. K-State surrendered 498 yards to a sputtering Syracuse offense, allowing wide receiver Marcus Sales to catch five passes for 172 yards and three touchdowns.

Sales gave Syracuse its first touchdown on a 52-yard flea flicker, scored again on a 36-yard strike and hauled in a 44-bomb after safety Ty Zimmerman slipped on the frozen turf.

"We really challenged ourselves offensively, because we only had one play over 50 yards all year long," Syracuse coach Doug Marrone said. "We had two today."

K-State produced its share of big plays, too, getting a 51-yard touchdown run from Daniel Thomas on the game's second snap, the first of three touchdown runs for the senior running back.

For all the headaches surrounding the game — most caused by the massive blizzard that slammed New York earlier this week — the first Pinstripe Bowl was deserving of its stage.

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That was a very weak way to end the game....Who knows if ksu would have scored the 2 points but it would have been much easier without the penalty! I really thought the wildcats were going to earn their stripes this year.....

also...who was the ksu player soluting*?????......I didn't see any ksu fans at the game.....

We all knew K-states defense was awful this season, they had so many injuries and i thought they really fought hard in this game.I dont care if they gave up 500 + yards today, they had a chance to win and that is all that matters.. The refs screwed it up for K-state in the end with a bogus call.. Without the penalty the Cats could have made the 2 point conversion seeing they made 4th down conversions before in clutch situations..No Average Citizen, the refs ended the game....Should have been decided in overtime...

As a KU fan I will say, until the penalty, it was one of the more entertaining of all the bowl games. Back and forth, who would flinch first? Syracuse...nope. K-State.... nope. The official..... Yep. What a letdown. This is a college bowl game ref. Don't ruin it for the kids, AND the fans. Let it be about those players on the field, not your sanctimonious officiating.

Not the way the rule is written. That one and the punt return/interference rule need tweeked. Even without the penalty K-State had to convert then stop Cuse from driving for a field goal attempt. Plus we got our share of questionable calls like the db contact that was shoulder to shoulder or the roughing the passer call. Bottom line is, defense wins championships and we don't have a defense.

The other problem, and this goes way back to the beginning of Snyder's tenure, is that the Cat's can't manage the clock very well. The QB is always calling an audible at the line or he's receiving instructions from the coordinator which causes them to run the clock down to nothing which make them have to hurry the play. They established no rhythm during the game, it seems they had to hurry everything to get from being penalized. I remember when the Cats were playing Ohio State they had the same problems. Maybe its Snyder's way of calling plays or maybe its because Coffman isn't that good of a QB. In any event they sunk themselves.

OK, already, it was a STUPID call, but State cannot play so horribly and expect to win that game. Our defense was nearly nonexistent, but offense put in a valiant effort. Suspect play calling also figured in. So many tangibles; bottom line, State did not play well enough to win today, but kept it close. Program needs to work on DEFENSE.
Meanwhile, that rule wording has to change - "anything that draws attention personally to the player"? Did D. Thomas not kneel and seemingly give a quick prayer after he scored one of his TDs? Why wasn't that flagged?
C'mon NCAA, pull yer heads out (again).

I am currently watching the bowl game between Tennessee and North Carolina. On BOTH Tennesee TDs, a little dancing and soluting and no call either time. Big Ten officials are doing this game, the same as the K-State game. Inconsistent and bad JUDGEMENT. How bad does this call look to ESPN viewers about now!!!

This year I found myself uncharacteristically cheering for NU when they played Texas. Then I cheered for Mizzou (seriously!) when they played NU. Of course I actively cheered for OSU against OU. Wore a shade of purple and joined friends in cheering for K-State against Duke. I get annoyed with fellow Jayhawks who find pleasure in K-State's current basketball "slump." And tonight I not only cheered for the Cats, but allowed myself an emotional attachment ... to the point that I felt, um, blue about the loss.

So to my K-State friends: I'm sorry. I'll do you a favor and stop cheering for you. (Great game, by the way.)

On the first touchdown the Cuse receiver gestured the crowd and nothing was called. Agree on all the comments about what happened earlier in the game but all those situations left time on the clock to be corrected. The officials took the game out of the hands of the players. You are seeing more and more of this at all levels of the game now.

Justifying one horrible call by saying there were other bad calls is the usual ridiculous response. I'm a KU fan and I have not said it decided the outcome. I said it was bad JUDGEMENT on the official and it was a huge black cloud in an otherwise great game to watch. Judge for yourself if you thought it was good or bad, but please, not the usual, riciculous rationalization........'there were other bad calls, blah, blah, blah!

Don't use the tired line that the one call or one play is what cost the team the game. You know if they stopped Syracuse sometime in the second half or kicked the field goal instead of the horrid fake, they may have won also.

By the way if you read the rule as it is written ... the refs (yes, two threw a flag) made the correct call. Not saying I agree with it .... but they called it as is written.

a bogus call. Instead of possibly having a 75% chance of tieing....they pushed it back to like 20%. ANYWAY...had Coffman lowered that final pass a foot or so.....he'd caught that pass & tied it anyway....

Coffman threw to high to catch it. The defender was behind him the whole time. It woulda been two points.

As a KU fan I am still disgusted of how k-state got robbed. Yet, my only words of consolation to the cats; thank The University of Miami Hurricans who's arrogant and stupid antics of the 80s influenced the NCAA to make these gray but bogus rules.

I must say that the Syracuse D-Lineman who tackled K-States RB(28) behind the line, late in the 4th quarter was the worst of all. He got up and ran his hands down the front of his body from his shoulders to his knees taunting the crowd, whats even better is in the camera shot a ref is looking at him from 2 feet away and does nothing.

BAD IS BAD! kstate lost fair and square. really it was never possible for kstate to win. god has a plan for everyone and today his plan was for the kstate people to suffer a loss at a horrible bowl, nothing could have changed that. and what kind of lameo bowl game is in the middle of the afternoon on a thursday?

the easy three points, Wild Bill took a chance and lost the game. Penalty call at the end was bush league but take the three and we will see was the smart move and in the end a legend out coached himself.. "Just A Thought"...

"Don't use the tired line that the one call or one play is what cost the team the game"

NOWHERE did I say anything that resembles that accusation. For you to say differently shows either a lack of reading skills, or a lack of character and honesty on your part.

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you struggle with reading, and accept your apology.

I am not interested in arguing who should have won, or how good or bad K-States defense is. I am not a K-State fan, just a football fan who was watching an exciting finish to a bowl game. I have no opinion on K-State's football team.